Mechanical Characterization of Nanoclay Reinforced Polypropylene Composites at High Temperature Subjected to Tensile Loads

Abstract

In this paper, Polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites are prepared by melt mixing in a twin-screw extruder by injection molding. The role of compatibilizing agent is performed by maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA) between nanoclay and PP. The effect of nanoclay particles (1, 3, 5 wt %) on the PP composites is investigated for tensile test at high temperature for the first time. Mechanical behaviors of PP/clay nanocomposites at both room temperature (RT) and high temperature (HT) are investigated in terms of tensile properties. Addition of nanoclay showed a significant enhancement in stiffness of PP/clay nanocomposites. Nearly 36% and 157% increase in the tensile modulus at both RT and HT are observed, respectively. But, the increase in tensile strength is almost negligible.